Commenting on President Trump’s announcement, Dr. Ketan Desai, President of the WMA, said:

‘We express our strongest concerns regarding President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris agreement. This agreement constitutes the very minimum threshold to achieve for the protection of our planet and the health of the population worldwide. We believe that such a decision from a country with one of the highest CO2 emissions in the world is not responsible.

‘This is a very sad and alarming step backwards, in complete disregard for people’s well-being, human rights and dignity. Physicians challenge without reservation this decision and call for an urgent and major turnaround so that the Paris agreement is fully implemented as a matter of priority’.